The Rock Hard Coast Sea Swim

Weekend itinerary

Such a great value weekend with so much included! The 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, Marathon, Ultra, SwimRuns and the Rock Hard Coast Sea Swim events may be booked separately and are at an additional cost. Everything else is included in your Weekend Festival ticket!

Friday

• 15:00 | Festival opens
• 17:00 | Event registration opens
• 17:00 | Festival cafe and bar opens for the weekend (all diets catered for)
• 18:00 | Guided evening run (for all ages and abilities including families) 
• 19:00 | Evening with speakers begins + film night for kids in an adjacent tent
• 21:00 | Guided night run (for all ages and abilities including families)

Saturday

• 09:00 | Event registration opens for 5K and 10K
• 09:00 | Guided run and movement session with movement maestro, Jo Kelly
• Morning yoga too
• 10:00 | 5K and 10K runs start
• 10:00 - 12:00 | Forest Schools
• 10:00 | Event registration opens for SwimRuns and the Rock Hard Coast Swim (South Milton Beach)
• 12:30 | Rock Hard Coast Sea Swim starts
• 13:30 | SwimRuns start (short, medium, long)
• 13:30 - 15:30 | Forest Schools
• 16:00 | Kids races start in festival field (under 8s and 8-12 years)
• 19:30 | Speakers evening at the Reading Rooms
• 19:00 | Music, bar and campfires at the festival site in the festival tent
• 21:00 | Live music

Sunday

• 08:00 | Marathon and Ultra start
• 10:00 | Half Marathon start
• Forest Schools in the morning
• Forest Schools in the afternoon
• 17:30 | Presentation evening
• 18:00 | Site closes

Kids

The Something Wild Festival is super family-friendly so come and make a weekend of it! There are plenty of activities throughout the weekend including kids races, forest schools, fun food and drinks bar, film night, outdoor yoga, walks, book swap, BBQ and Capture the Flag too!

Walkers

There will be guided walks as part of your Weekend Festival ticket however you are also welcome to walk the 5K, 10K and Half Marathon events.

Dogs

Well-behaved dogs on leads are allowed and you can also run with your dog on a harness as per canicross rules of the Trail Running Association.

Speakers line-up

2023 speakers line-up has now been finalised and includes:

• Jo Meek

  Jo enjoys racing all over the world, selected to run for GB in the World Trail champs (her best is 7th) and in the 100km champs (her best is 4th).
  Jo is a crazy ultra runner….on roads, in the mountains, through deserts and on trails. She has been a runner for a long time working hard towards her goals. She is also a passionate physiotherapist. Her working week is split in two; self employed in Exeter and employed by the English Institute of Sport in Bath treating funded athletes on their journey to Tokyo. In her spare time she can be found on Dartmoor, baking and drinking gin…not necessarily in that order!
   

• Kari Fure

  An artist who focuses on form and the process of movement in water, specialising in open water swimming.

• Jo Kelly

  Jo has been working with runners and many other athletes for over 20 years, developing his understanding of human movement and locomotion.
  He believes movement freedom is the ultimate aim of any training programme, which should give us the tools to become our own coach in our chosen sport. Jo has appeared in several best seller books on running.

Event HQ

Hope Cove
Kingsbridge
Devon
TQ7 3HW
UK

Festival site

The farmer has kindly given access to his fields, overlooking the idyllic Hope Cove, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better location to wake up to in the south west. It is close to ideal swimming spots in Hope Cove, East Soar and Bantham Bay.

This year, there will be a camp village and festival village, which will be clearly separated to allow flow and easy access and there'll be two lovely venues for the speakers evening!

Campsite

The campsite is suitable for up to 50 tents, parking and camper vans, as well as and serving as the base for all the trail events, which is an ideal vantage point for spectators.

This year there will be extra toilet facilities and basic shower facilities.

Other accommodation

If camping isn’t your thing, there are plenty of Air BNB places around Hope Cove and the South Hams. Burton Farm is perhaps the nearest, as the farmer owns the festival fields. It’s a charming restored 15th century farmhouse, set among 325 acres.

Parking

Parking is available at the campsite for £5.

This sea swimming event is part of the Something Wild Festival which has a fantastic new venue close to the sea, overlooking the idyllic Hope Cove. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better location to wake up to in the south west. Swimmers will be close to a range of ideal swimming spots in Hope Cove, East Soar and Bantham Bay, to help make a full weekend of the event.

Start location

The Rock Hard Coast Sea Swim starts at South Milton Sands, which is a 15-20 minute walk from the festival camping at Hope Cove.

Kit check

There will be a mandatory equipment check at registration and here's the kit list. If participating as a pair, some items are one per pair:

• Wetsuit/tri suit/swimrun suit (suitable for water temperature of minimum 14 degrees C)
• Pair goggles
• Off road trainers
• Whistle
• Hydration system, soft bottle or cup
• Tow buoy (one per pair or one for solos)
• Emergency food
• £20 in sealed bag
• Swim cap (provided)
• Race chip/tracker (provided)
• Extra emergency food (strongly recommended)
• Mobile phone in waterproof case (strongly recommended)

Included

• Electronic chip timing
• Swim cap
• Fully supported course with on-water safety
• Finisher’s medal for all
• 1st, 2nd and 3rd place medals in each of the three age categories 

I thoroughly enjoyed this whole weekend experience, adding in wild camping was a plus. I went with my two children who could stay in the forest school sessions arranged while I was out running! They loved it. I did the 10k run which was stunning along the coastline and back through lanes and over fields. Very community good-feel event with a fire pit and music on one evening. Highly recommend. My kids want to go back next year! (Maria Wilhelmsson)